Govt tells auto drivers to install GPS, again

A fortnight after increasing autorickshaw and taxi fares by 25%, the Delhi government on Tuesday asked auto-rickshaw drivers to install global positioning system (GPS) devices in their vehicles at the earliest.

Delhi transport minister Ramakant Goswami said that the officials of his department have been asked to take strict action against the autorickshaw drivers who fleece commuters.

The minister also directed them to ensure installation of GPS devices in all autorickshaws so that their movements can be tracked.

More than 55,000 auto-rickshaws are operating in the city without GPS devices despite repeated directives from the transport department to do so.

Installation of GPS devices was made mandatory when the government had revised autorickshaw fare in June 2010.

HSRP plates

The transport department has also made it mandatory for the vendor, which was given contract for installation of High Security Registration Plates (HSRP), to intimate vehicle owners about the date of installation of secured plates in writing by putting a stamp on the fee receipt.

The decision came as the transport department had received lot of complaints about inordinate delay in delivery of HSRP to the vehicle owners.